I apologise in advance if I seem a little stupid, but I would like some advice on how to leave Orange.
Just some brief details;
I am a Freeserve -> Wanadoo -> Orange old-skooler, and I am currently paying £17.99 for "8MB" connection (is in fact 5MB), Speedtouch modem and 2GB limit. As far as I know, this price plan is a little odd, as there is no such thing as a £17.99 price plan. Oh well.
Anyways, I used to use Wanadoo 512k but then when Orange came along they offered me a FREE upgrade to 8MB, so I took that.
So, basically, how exactly do I quit? I know I need to stop my direct debit and then ask Orange to close my account - but one thing I don't understand is the 30-day notice thing. Apparently, my contract started 3 Aug 2004 and expired 3 Aug 2005. I did ask about my current contract, but they gave me those dates only, and nothing else.
So, what does this mean now? That I have to ask to close my account next August to avoid the cancellation fee? And when abouts do I have to notify them? They say they need a 30-day notice AFTER your cuurent contract has ended, but surely by that time, you would already be in your new contract and therefore cannot leave at all without paying the huge cancellation fee? It's like a vicious circle, non?
Any help on this matter would be most appreciated. Thank you.
_________________ Orange. ORANGE. ORANGE! Having problems with your Orange email? Don't bother using it then! Sign up for GMail.
You only need to request a MAC code which they should issue in max. 5 working days.
When this is used by your new ISP the 30 day notice is automatically invoked. This method will mean virtually no loss of service during the change over.....some posters on here have reported as little as a couple of hours.
If you cancel with Orange then you will be in their hands as regards removal of the tag marking your phone line. You could be without service for 30 days or more.
_________________ An ex-Orange guinea pig
"The first third of our lives is ruined by our parents, the second third by 0range then along comes 02 and you die happy."
Well, you have a number of options available to you.
If you're happy with the service from Orange (its up to 8mbit, 5mbit is perfectly reasonable), then you should get onto them to change you to the 8mbit unlimited package. Its £19.99 but 'unlimited' transfer (which apparently is 40gb). It should make the connection a lot more usable, and they should send you out a livebox too (make sure you do, technically you're renting it and you can stop rental on it after a while and send it back, allowing you to drop the price).
If the usage limit isn't a problem, then consider dropping the connection to a £14.99 package. Its only 2mbit, but if you've got a 2gb limit its more than enough and will still go all too quickly. Switching to either of these contracts however will tie you into a new contract, so beware, because if you try to leave during that time you might be liable to pay out the rest of the contract.
The other options are to request a MAC code (which they have to legally provide within 5 days), or to cancel your account. The MAC code is preferable if you aim to move providers. You take the code given by Orange and provide it to the other at sign up, and it allows them to switch over from Orange (this is assuming you're not switching to cable, and sticking to DSL). At the end of the switch over, they should cancel your Orange account, though just check with Orange after they've been cancelled and to ensure any direct debits are cancelled. By going the MAC code route you should have minimal downtime, no more than a few hours, tops.
Cancelling the connection outright will require about 10 days after for any flags set on your line to be removed. Once thats done, you could switch to another provider. If you're switching to Cable, you're going to have to cancel, MAC codes are solely for DSL switching.
Forgot the DD bit......the safe method is to cancel it immediately you're connected to your new ISP.
Some might say as soon as you have given the MAC to your new ISP but legally (an implied contract still exists) you finish paying Orange when they disconnect you and you start paying the new ISP when they're connection is activated.
_________________ An ex-Orange guinea pig
"The first third of our lives is ruined by our parents, the second third by 0range then along comes 02 and you die happy."
You only need to request a MAC code which they should issue in max. 5 working days.
When this is used by your new ISP the 30 day notice is automatically invoked. This method will mean virtually no loss of service during the change over.....some posters on here have reported as little as a couple of hours.
If you cancel with Orange then you will be in their hands as regards removal of the tag marking your phone line. You could be without service for 30 days or more.
So; ask for a MAC code, wait until I receive it, hand over to new ISP and then cancel my direct debit? I don't want to be charged an extra month whilst I am migrating.
Since my contract presumably refreshes every 3rd August, does that mean I have to wait til next August or not? I really do not understand the 30-day notice...
EDIT - Thanks for the other replies!
_________________ Orange. ORANGE. ORANGE! Having problems with your Orange email? Don't bother using it then! Sign up for GMail.
Completely forget the 30 day notice if you are going down the MAC code route to move to another DSL ISP.
30 days notice only applies if you cancel without getting a MAC.
Re. Cjeheth's post, if you are moving to cable then sign up immediately then once cable connected, give Orange 30 days notice of cancellation. But don't forget to cancel DD after 30 days. Refresh date doesn't matter it's the 30 days that count.
_________________ An ex-Orange guinea pig
"The first third of our lives is ruined by our parents, the second third by 0range then along comes 02 and you die happy."
Completely forget the 30 day notice if you are going down the MAC code route to move to another DSL ISP.
30 days notice only applies if you cancel without getting a MAC.
Re. Cjeheth's post, if you are moving to cable then sign up immediately then once cable connected, give Orange 30 days notice of cancellation. But don't forget to cancel DD after 30 days. Refresh date doesn't matter it's the 30 days that count.
Well, I'm just hoping to get the hell out ASAP with the lowest possible costs.
I'm staying on DSL; it's not the fact that Orange is slow, it's just that the download limit really isn't enough for me, and it's a bit of a rip-off for what it is.
I'm gonna go the MAC code way; seems the fastest and easiest method. And I'm so glad that the 30-day notice thing does not apply to this method!
Thanks very much for the help you two!
_________________ Orange. ORANGE. ORANGE! Having problems with your Orange email? Don't bother using it then! Sign up for GMail.
If you phone for the MAC be prepared to be rude because Orange will do their best to keep you.....Say NO otherwise you'll find yourself persuaded into a 18 month contract !!!!!!
They are now issuing MACs on an email request if you don't fancy phoning them.
_________________ An ex-Orange guinea pig
"The first third of our lives is ruined by our parents, the second third by 0range then along comes 02 and you die happy."
If you phone for the MAC be prepared to be rude because Orange will do their best to keep you.....Say NO otherwise you'll find yourself persuaded into a 18 month contract !!!!!!
They are now issuing MACs on an email request if you don't fancy phoning them.
Heheheh, don't worry, I'll refuse them to the bitter end! They lured me in with a free upgrade to 8MB; won't be lured back again.
_________________ Orange. ORANGE. ORANGE! Having problems with your Orange email? Don't bother using it then! Sign up for GMail.
Well, I've only been with Orange a few days now, and although the signup was a nightmare for me, the connection I have with Orange is a LOT better than I had with BT Option 3. So, whatever you do, stay clear away from BT!
DSLzone has ratings of all the major providers, thanks to user comments and rating (so it might not be entirely trustworthy). If you don't know which ISP to pick then I suggest checking it out here.
Be* is probably the best ISP at the moment (well, most highly recommended I know of), they've got the widest home-user coverage of ADSL2+ and do very reasonable prices. They recently changed their low end package to 8mbit unlimited for £14 a month, and because its coming via ADSL2+ it should be providing a better speed than other providers (so for instance, a 4mbit+ ADSL connection might actually result in 8mbit). If you don't mind paying extra you could go up to 24mbit for £24 a month (though check on DSLzone about ADSL2+ Max Speed, no point going for that package if you can't get much more than 8mbit). However, if you go with Be*, bare in mind they only offer the service if their LLU is at your exchange.
Oh, and on phoning Orange to get the MAC code, try to do it during the day, or very early evening, you're more likely to get through to an english rep. Though, in this situation they're all likely to be reading off a script, the english reps tend to be easier to understand, and more likely to repeat the code upon request (after my problems with signup thanks to a duff code from BT india, make sure to double check it and get them to confirm it).
Unfortunately my area's exchange is as weak as a chocolate teapot, so I cannot get Be (according to Moneysupermarket's availability checker, though not sure how reliable that is).
According to MSM, I can only get crap things like Virgin (bleugh), BT (meh), PlusNet and Eclipse.
I was actually thinking of moving to Eclipse Evolution Option 1 (£14.99 for 8MB with unlimited downloads), but that DSLZone chart doesn't look too promising.
_________________ Orange. ORANGE. ORANGE! Having problems with your Orange email? Don't bother using it then! Sign up for GMail.
Samknows provides a good exchange checker here. Just type in your town name or postcode and it'll bring up your local exchange. It'll say what LLU's are enabled and stuff. I also suggest checking the ISP's sites too. Most do their own checks, Be* definately do.
With DSLzone too, I suggest checking out the comments more than the ratings themselves. You can do this by picking the ISP from the list under the ratings bar (ordered by rating), then clicking to view comments under the broken-down report for that ISP. Words of disgust from disgruntled users will always mean more than mere numbers.
AOL might be worth looking into, however, assuming you have the LLU enabled at your exchange. 8mbit with 40gb cap for £19.99 (£29.99 without LLU), but, similar to what Orange recently did, theres a free laptop deal on at the moment (here). AOL have come along a lot from the old days of scamming their customers, and whilst I've never used them myself, I've heard good things about them (even from the manager of my local PC World, lol).
Be* is deffo not available in my area. According to Samknows: "01/02/2007 Be Unlimited is no longer reporting an enablement date"
On the Samknows chart, the LLUs I can apparently get are TalkTalk, Bulldog and Sky. TalkTalk want my phone line, Bulldog is too expensive and Sky looks great but only for existing Sky customers only.
According to DSLZone's checker, I am only 500metres away from my local exchange , and my line can support 6.5MB+, so why the hell I am only getting 5.3MB is past me. I used to be able to get 7.6MB, but that gradually went down.
Hnng, there are so many great ISPs out there, but I can't even get them.
In fact, I'm just gonna go through each ISP and use their own checkers. I'm sure there is one out there for me!
_________________ Orange. ORANGE. ORANGE! Having problems with your Orange email? Don't bother using it then! Sign up for GMail.
Sky isn't a bad deal. Used to be a lot of problems when the broadband deal started, but now thats (supposedly) been sorted out. The router is apparently a netgear wireless one (though locked down to Sky, becoming a rather common practice), and you can pick a reasonable broadband package for £5 on top of a Sky package. This isn't just for existing Sky customers, but it IS only for Sky customers, meaning you'd need to take a TV package alongside it.
But, thats not bad. £15 for Sky's basic package and £5 on top for reasonable broadband. I recently dropped Sky however, I stopped watching TV for the most part and so was useless to me, but they've got the new season of prison break starting this month. Theres also a few 'free' channels on Sky that you don't get on freeview (which stay enabled if you ever ditch your subscription). If you're an anime fan, theres even a dedicated anime channel starting up soon, and theres also x-league tv for gaming.
Still, I seem to be acting as a sales rep here and trying to sell one ISP after another. A lot of ISPs just rent through BT if they've not got their own LLU equipment installed, so just look out for the best speed/usage limit/contention ratio package you can find. Other things to look for are freebies (such as laptops, or routers, or software), minimum term contracts, what other users have to say about the ISP, and setup or leaving costs. Some charge £30 if you want to switch away from them, so you really need to do your research.
Then again, I signed up to Orange for 18 months, even after a load of hassle where I could of cancelled my order. So, probably best not to listen to my recommendations.
Sky isn't a bad deal. Used to be a lot of problems when the broadband deal started, but now thats (supposedly) been sorted out. The router is apparently a netgear wireless one (though locked down to Sky, becoming a rather common practice), and you can pick a reasonable broadband package for £5 on top of a Sky package. This isn't just for existing Sky customers, but it IS only for Sky customers, meaning you'd need to take a TV package alongside it.
But, thats not bad. £15 for Sky's basic package and £5 on top for reasonable broadband. I recently dropped Sky however, I stopped watching TV for the most part and so was useless to me, but they've got the new season of prison break starting this month. Theres also a few 'free' channels on Sky that you don't get on freeview (which stay enabled if you ever ditch your subscription). If you're an anime fan, theres even a dedicated anime channel starting up soon, and theres also x-league tv for gaming.
Still, I seem to be acting as a sales rep here and trying to sell one ISP after another. A lot of ISPs just rent through BT if they've not got their own LLU equipment installed, so just look out for the best speed/usage limit/contention ratio package you can find. Other things to look for are freebies (such as laptops, or routers, or software), minimum term contracts, what other users have to say about the ISP, and setup or leaving costs. Some charge £30 if you want to switch away from them, so you really need to do your research.
Then again, I signed up to Orange for 18 months, even after a load of hassle where I could of cancelled my order. So, probably best not to listen to my recommendations.
Mmm, Sky's offer does look tempting, but I don't want their TV service right now. I spend more time on the internet than watching TV; I could just get a Freeview box if I wanted more channels.
All these years of suffering with Orange and millions of calls from Sky telemarketers now makes me want to scream "YES! SIGN ME UP NOW!" down the phone to them, just out of pure desperation, heh.
And no, I don't think you come across as a sales rep. I prefer talking to a real person rather than simply reading comments posted from random people. It's more reliable in my opinion.
I'm seriously considering moving to Eclipse's £14.99 package (still waiting for them to run a check for me) or to IDNet.
It's just so confusing because some checkers say I cannot get this, but other checkers say I can etc. It would be ideal if there was a OFCOM (or whichever regulator monitors internet comms) checker' that way there would be a single, reliable test result.
If Eclipse give me the all clear, I think I'll jump ship to them. I'm not the bill payer, so I can only ask for cheaper broadband!
Thanks for the posts, Cjeheth.
_________________ Orange. ORANGE. ORANGE! Having problems with your Orange email? Don't bother using it then! Sign up for GMail.
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I apologise in advance if I seem a little stupid, but I would like some advice on how to leave 
And when abouts do I have to notify them? They say they need a 30-day notice AFTER your cuurent contract has ended, but surely by that time, you would already be in your new contract and therefore cannot leave at all without paying the huge cancellation fee? It's like a vicious circle, non?
TalkTalk want my phone line, Bulldog is too expensive and 
, and my line can support 6.5MB+, so why the hell I am only getting 5.3MB is past me. I used to be able to get 7.6MB, but that gradually went down.
